Pathways Success Story: Transforming Graduation Tracking and Student Success at Huntsville High School
At Huntsville High School, ensuring students graduate prepared for their future was a challenge made even more complex by outdated tracking methods. Counselors and administrators juggled spreadsheets and manual data entry, struggling to keep up with the many moving pieces of College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR). Without a centralized system, teachers who wanted to help were left without the tools to do so, and the school risked students slipping through the cracks.
For Principal Paul Trevino, this wasn’t acceptable. His vision was clear: create a system where educators could easily access the information they needed to support students and ensure every graduate had a plan for the future. When he discovered Pathways, he realized it could be the missing piece in transforming how his team tracked student progress—and in turn, how they supported student success.
The Challenge
When Paul first arrived at Huntsville High School, he quickly recognized that the school lacked a structured system for tracking CCMR.
"There was no tracking. We didn’t even have a spreadsheet. Everyone wanted to help, but they needed the right information. They didn't need to spend time doing data mining—they needed to know who in what class needed extra attention and where they could make an impact."
The absence of a centralized tracking system meant that critical information was scattered, making it difficult to ensure students were on the right path. The counseling team—many of whom came from elementary backgrounds—had never worked with high school graduation tracking before, and COVID-19 had further disrupted their ability to monitor students’ academic progress.
"We were missing the boat with some of these kids. We were dumping all this information into spreadsheets, but we couldn’t extract a simple list of students who needed attention. Teachers wanted to help, but they didn’t have a way to see which students needed their support."
This lack of visibility didn’t just impact the staff, it also created uncertainty for students. Without clear pathways, some students weren’t aware of the specific steps they needed to take to graduate, earn CCMR points, or prepare for post-secondary success.
"We’re not just checking boxes. We’re trying to build a culture where students understand their options, and teachers feel empowered to help them get there. That’s what makes the difference."
The solution had to be more than just a tool for tracking numbers—it needed to empower the entire school community to work together toward student success.
The Solution
At a conference, Paul discovered Pathways and immediately saw its potential.
"When I talked to the team, I said, ‘You know what would be great? If you had a product that did this.’ And then they showed me Pathways. I was like, ‘Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?!’ This would have been a time saver and a game changer."
From there, everything changed.
With Pathways, Huntsville High School finally had a system that could provide real-time tracking of graduation requirements, CCMR points, and student progress. The implementation wasn’t just about adopting new software—it was about transforming the way the entire team worked together.
"Our counselors are the backbone of our high school campus. When I arrived, we gathered in a room and started reviewing transcripts together. As we worked through them, conversations naturally unfolded—not just about core subjects, but also about dual credit, career and technology courses, and the significance of industry-based certifications. That’s when everything started to click."
Pathways allowed teachers, counselors, and administrators to quickly identify students who needed extra support. No longer buried in spreadsheets, staff could now focus on proactive interventions, ensuring every student had a clear, individualized path to success.
"One of the biggest things was that teachers came to us asking, ‘How can we help with CCMR?’ Pathways gave us the ability to say, ‘Here are the students who need extra focus in your class.’ That was something we just couldn’t do with spreadsheets."
With clear insights into student progress, the team at Huntsville High School could now work more efficiently, allowing them to focus less on tracking and more on guiding students toward meaningful futures.
The Result
The impact of Pathways has been transformational for Huntsville High School. The shift from manual tracking to an efficient, centralized system has led to measurable improvements across the board.
"Not only have our CCMR points increased, but all of our metrics have improved—graduation rates, scholarship dollars, CTE enrollment, even our success with emergent bilingual students. We increase scholarship dollars by 2 to 3 million every year because students are now getting the guidance and coaching they need."
Beyond the numbers, the success of Pathways has contributed to a more engaged and motivated team. With processes in place that reduce workload and provide clarity, Huntsville High School has seen remarkable staff retention.
"We have the longest-tenured administrative and counseling team in the district, and our retention rates are the highest—93% for new teachers and 91% overall. When you build strong systems that make work easier and more effective, people want to stay."
Perhaps most importantly, the improved efficiency has allowed educators to focus on what truly matters: building relationships with students and guiding them toward their goals.
"The relationships we build with students matter. Sometimes, we are the only positive interaction they have all day. If they know we believe in them, they’ll believe in themselves."
With Pathways, Huntsville High School has created a culture where students, teachers, and counselors all work together toward a shared vision of success. It’s no longer about simply meeting requirements—it’s about ensuring every student leaves high school with confidence in their next steps.
"We’re not just doing this for accountability. We’re making sure students know their path—whether that’s college, career, or military. We don’t want them wasting time or credits. We want them to leave this building ready for what’s next."
"We don’t just focus on minimum standards—we’re not here just to get students to graduation day. We’re focused on making sure they know what’s next, whether it’s college, a career, or the military. We’re removing barriers and creating opportunities."
Thanks to Pathways, Huntsville High School has not only improved its graduation tracking process—it has strengthened its school community, making student success a shared mission across the entire campus.
The Product
Pathways, powered by Education Advanced, Inc., is a graduation tracking tool that allows administrators and counselors to efficiently create, monitor, and analyze graduation pathways to ensure secondary students are on track to graduate. Pathways ensures the accuracy of student data through a feed with the district student information system, which saves time and reduces the administrative burden for counselors and administrators.
